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Commercial Payments Bill [HL]

My Lords, we will carefully consider what the Minister has said, but I think he will acknowledge that there is some doubt, some worry and some concern still in existence. I appreciate his reiteration that Amendment 20 will be covered within the Bill already and I accept that the information for a review is not currently available. On Amendment 21, while I accept that it does not fall within the scope of this Bill, I gently ask the Minister whether the Government are currently looking at insolvency moratoria and special administration regimes. There has been plenty of talk in recent months about placing certain industries into public hands, not least Thames Water. If businesses of this scale are in question, firms supplying them deserve some clarity.

These firms are worried about their futures. The very need for this Bill demonstrates that poor payment practices and withheld arrears are a threat to their existence. I hope to see some solution reached in the near future, but I acknowledge that the Minister has gone a distance to try to address these concerns and that he has committed to continue to monitor the situation carefully. Therefore, in the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.